Wrong Tones.
I sat here this morning thinking about how to put into words what I feel and think about the Occupy Delaware situation and the Markell Administration’s and the City of Wilmington’s response so far to it. And then I read Kavips and find that he has basically said everything that needs to be said.
I have a lot of sympathy for Brian Selander, Governor Markell’s chief strategy officer, primarily because he and I are a lot alike. Practical. Pragmatic. Progressive but not purist. And I do not envy his responsibilities and obligations and the balancing act that is taking place. But I have also sympathy for the protestors. And I am afraid that sympathy wins out. As Kavips says:
This is not some ragtag group of protesters. These are former professionals, people currently employed or not, who are scared to death, that their country is going down the wrong path, fast. As much as you [Brian] and Jack have been scrambling to bring jobs here to Delaware, YOU KNOW THEY ARE RIGHT!!
We ARE going down the wrong path, … and HAVE BEEN, ever since the 2000 elections! And the nuts who got elected from conservative districts in 2010, haven’t helped!
Kavips goes on to make what I think is an ill placed analogy of this situation to the early Revolutionary War days, with Brian Selander taking on the role of the Governor General of Massachusetts trying to balance the interests of the crown and the colonists. If that analogy were apt, that makes Governor Markell …. King George III? Nah. Not really. Maybe the corporate overlords are the mad King George? Perhaps then, yes. But I digress.
It is Kavips’ opinion that Brian’s statement to the press last night struck the wrong tone.
“The state made a very reasonable offer with the use of state managed properties at Brandywine and Fletcher Brown park,” Selander said. “It was an offer that respected constitutional rights to be heard and assemble. They’ve chosen a different path.”
That paints the protestors as unreasonable. I’m sorry, but that dog doesn’t hunt. I think the Occupy movement has been very reasonable in their statements. I thought a conflict over Fletcher Brown Park would be unwise because the PR battle would have been protestors v. children, a battle certain to be lost. But Peter Spencer Plaza next to the City/County Building? Hey, that’s fair. That’s reasonable. It may be inconvenient and not pleasing to look at, but neither is Occupy Philly, which I have to walk around every morning. But I grin and bare it because I support the larger message, the larger purpose.
Bringing guns to rallies where bigotry and calls to violence are espoused, that’s unreasonable. Wanting your tents and your signs seen and not hidden away north of I-95, I think that is reasonable. I imagine Brian and the Governor are concerned about precedent. That allowing Occupy Delaware to camp with out a permit sets the stage down the line for more egregious groups, like perhaps the KKK, to do the same. And that is why cities and states set up the permit and fee process to discourage such groups, or at least to control them.
I admit that is a concern, but not an overriding one. The thing about hateful groups is that they tend to be hateful, and violent groups tend to be violent, and thus the police usually clear these protests for those reasons. Occupy Delaware is not hateful. Occupy Delaware is not violent. So I think that concern should vanish.
Kavips offers up what the Governor and his office should say:
“These people are citizens of this nation. They are protected by the U.S Constitution like everyone else. We are a fee-based society. Sometimes, like the poll tax, those fees get in the way of pure democracy. Heaven forbid, that democracy could only exist, for those who could afford to pay a fee. In fact, the Stamp Act by the British, that event that triggered the American Revolution, was exactly that. A fee for a permit. Currently, the Occupy Movement is representing the revolutionary spirit that created this country. Likewise, they represent the moral equivalent of those who felt slavery, despite it’s being sanctioned by the Federal government, was intensely immoral, and an abomination. They too, like those who said it was wrong to have a second class citizenry, based solely upon the color of ones skin, even though that too, was approved and sanctioned by State governments around this nation.
For this reason, we are going to issue permits for this group. They have the same right as every citizen in America, to make their grievances known. When the wealthy lost an election, they had money to advertise, set up rallies, buy media spokespersons, pour unheard amounts of money into tiny local campaigns. But when the poor want to do the same, we say, sorry, you can’t because you don’t have cash…. and your checks come back stamped: insufficient funds.
One must wonder, if our current mayor, yes, that one who got his start during the Civil Rights movement right here in Wilmington, would be here today, if he, failed, yes, failed to lead a protest on some steps near here, because to do so, he would have first, had to pay a fee?
A fee/permit system is the surest method to silence the poor. Yet those who can’t afford it, were expressly given the same rights under the Constitution of the United States of America. They were given them, simply because, we were going to be a nation designed like no other, where each person, no matter his income, had the equal right to life, to liberty, and to their individual pursuit of happiness..
Like Philadelphia to the north of us, Baltimore to the south of us, New York to the northeast of us, we too will allow these citizens of the Occupy movement, to make their grievances known, in their own way. Their symbol of communication, is with tents. We ask, and have been given assurances, that they will respect every other citizen’s rights and property, in their pursuit of expressing their message.
We wish them luck with their endeavor.
Occupy Philly, as well as hundreds of other Occupy movements around the country have been going on without incident or controversy. The only places where there have been clashes are where has been disagreement between public officials and the protestors over the occupation, which led to the police trying to evict or chase out the protestors (i.e. Denver, New York City and Oakland), which led to public attention and increased media coverage.
The only place where the protestors could have been described as violent was in Oakland, and that is because some anarchists came in after a march and started vandalizing. If the same happens here in Wilmington, feel free to chase them down, evict them, and arrest them.
Otherwise it is a peaceful if inconvenient protest.
Don’t clash with it. Respect it. And if you disagree with it, then ignore it.
well stated DD
one really has to wonder who is talking to the Governor and where their loyalties are. Delaware certainly does well because big banks (and lots of other businesses) are located here. I’m starting to realize that freedoms in this country are starting to exist at the pleasure of the rich and powerful. the “destroy the government so businesses can do what they want” Teabaggers are fine to threaten violence, but asking for fair treatment gets you a club to the head. I’ve been back and forth on this for a couple weeks now. OWS isnt (in my opinion) protesting the government DIRECTLY. The government is our tool for the using. But if they have decided to ally themselves with the REAL enemy.. we simply must ignore their biased decisions.
Markell will clearly win his next election, but this time he will do it without an exuberant youthful Jack Pack. Even if they print up the T-shirts again it won’t be the same.
Spencer Plaza is a nice place for Occupy to visit but not to stay overnight. No point pissing off the entire government when the whole reason for being there is the banks a few blocks uptown.
” we simply must ignore their biased decisions.”
… or at least expose them. I hope someone has the time to file a Rodney Square application and follow through all the responses in detail. The idea would be to get the responses in writing, and ask for a waiver of the corporate approvals and fees on Constitutional grounds. And at least get a denial directly from the corporate representatives by name. I apologize for not being able to do all this myself.
Dana’s video mail to Markell
http://kilroysdelaware.wordpress.com/2011/11/07/occupy-delaware-dana-calls-markell-out/
Here is one of the restrictions that Gov Markell would have placed on Occupy Delaware at Brandywine Park: “Permittee [Occupy Delaware] may not congregate, solicit the public, display signs, or distribute materials outside of the above mentioned designated area.”
That would have kept Occupy Delaware CONFINED to the campsite and even without a visible display of speech (a sign). Talk about marginalizing speech. Gov Markell’s “good faith” offer was nonsense and phony as it turned out.
You’re still arguing around the margins, DD. America is a police state. The Constitution no longer applies. Even in Delaware.
One of the articles I linked to in the past few weeks noted one of the big differences between the tea party and OWS. While the tea party has focused their rage and energy on government, the OWS have focused their energies on the people who have bought that government. This struck me then as an excellent observation and it is a useful frame to watch the efforts of government try to restrict the Occupy Delaware folks.
I have no doubt that there needs to be some balancing of the interests of the folks who need to work downtown and the Occupiers. There is no balance in just shuffling off the protesters to someplace where those who are busily buying up the government can specifically avoid encountering the protesters. There is no balance in providing the occupiers with a litany of restrictions supposedly meant to make sure that other people can use the park, while there is a day care close by who apparently has no such restriction on their use of the park. Top that with the deployment of a fair number of WPD officers (I read a count yesterday of 14 of them), and the thing that is clear is the free speech, engaging your government and all of that OG Thomas Paine stuff means nothing to the people running either Wilmington or Delaware. There are notorious drug corners in Wilmington who could use the services Occupy WPD today.
Press Release from the City a few minutes ago:
“sure you can stand around, but you peasants better mind your Ps and Qs. Uppity serfs will be punished. ”
~your bank-owned city government
I completely understand your frustration, Ben. Perhaps it is time for defiance and arrests – more power to you guys.
Oh, my, my, my…Deldem… I now see I should have developed that concept, fluffed it out a little more…
Funny, I did not even see that connection you made… equating Governor Markell with King George… certainly NOT my intention.
AS I look back now, I guess it could be because of my past studies of the British side of that period of History, that I missed that connection you made. My bad. I take full blame for the misconception. Although it WAS King George III who did sign the order enforcing that hard line that precipitated the American Revolution, had he not had to answer to HIS conservative wing in Parliament and to HIS sensational press, both who were blasting the recalcitrant Colonies and calling for their heads to be delivered on a platter, … he probably would have chosen the more practical path of acquiescing to a small demand, in order to preserve the larger peace and maintain control over his nation’s investments.
As Steve Newton kinda pointed out here not to long ago, it was quite possibly the lessons learned from botching up America, that made Cornwallis’ subjugation of India into the Commonwealth of Britain, so successful…
So, it was Greg Lavelle, the Delaware GOP, and the 9/12 Patriots, who were the representation I was trying to implicate, by referring them as the powers far, far removed from the conflict, who had no skin in the game, who crying for heads on a platter, were forcing Selander and Markell into making a choice equivalent to that made by that Governor of Massachusetts, and crack down on people simply trying to make their redress their grievances. . .
It is this odious group that created the problem, facilitated the problem, and now is trying to exacerbate the problem, that I was warning Selander to ignore.
Thank you, Deldem, for bringing that up so I could take this opportunity to again make it PERFECTLY CLEAR, with whom exactly the problem lies….. 🙂
btw, $200 will be hard for them to arrange in such short notice. They need some help.
No problem, and no, thank you. Kavips, email me at delawaredem@delawareliberal.net. I thought I had your email address but it seems to be incorrect, and I wanted to pass something onto to you.
So did Brian Selander seek out anybody else to send a response to posting Dana Garrett’s video like he did to me?
http://civilbutdisobedient.blogspot.com/2011/11/occupy-delaware-and-brian-selanders.html
OK this is now officially getting really weird.
Don’t know why you consider it weird. Brian is doing his job.
Uh oh. Steve will be next in line for a Delaware Politics spanking. 😉
Just got the word. The city of Wilmington refused to drop it’s $200 fee for Occupy Delaware to exercise its 1st1st amendment of free speech in a public plaza. Arrests may be imminent.
Sigler tries to turn OD into the Black Panthers:
WILMINGTON — Delaware Republican Party Chairman John Sigler released the following statement today after the Occupy Delaware protestors were granted permits to occupy Spencer Plaza.
“I am very disappointed, but not surprised, that the City of Wilmington has allowed this so-called ‘occupation’ to go forward,” Sigler said. “For the last several days we have watched as Democratic leaders in Delaware, from the Governor to the Mayor, have done everything possible to bend the rules in favor of these left-wing groups, all at the expense of taxpayers and those who play by the rules.”
Sigler went on to say, “Given the Mayor’s decision to allow a permit to issue, I must applaud Rep. Greg Lavelle’s political ingenuity demonstrated by his tongue-in-cheek offer to pay the required fee for these folks to continue their efforts to show just how unrealistic, out-of-touch, anti-American, anti-capitalistic and anti-business they can be. Given their apparent ties to certain local political figures and organizations, selected radical and extremist causes, and certain left-wing organizations of questionable credentials, Rep. Lavelle’s offer shows how little real support they actually have among their own political supporters. If I were them, I would be embarrassed that the only person to come to their aid was the Vice-Chairman of the Republican Party whose only motivation was to give them enough political rope to hang themselves.”
“Indeed, the ‘Occupy Rehoboth’ event was organized by the ‘Progressive Democrats,’ demonstrating that far from a spontaneous, ‘grass roots’ demonstration, we are dealing with nothing more than attempts by the Democratic Party to energize their base, using public resources at taxpayers’ expense” Sigler continued. “The fact that only 50 people were counted at Sunday’s event in Wilmington, which dwindled to as low as 5 this morning, indicates just how little support there is in Delaware for the various ‘demands’ associated with the ‘occupy’ protesters.”
“The only place where the protestors could have been described as violent was in Oakland, and that is because some anarchists came in after a march and started vandalizing. If the same happens here in Wilmington, feel free to chase them down, evict them, and arrest them”.
Maybe had the authorities not had the cops firing rubber bulletts and teargas projectiles among other things at otherwise peaceful people that ultimatly injured a war vet seriously then the anarchists wouldn’t been given an excuse
Sigler’s point is valid. After all the bending over backwards everyone did, no one stepped up with a measly $200? That is extremely sad.
I’m afraid the crib death we fought to prevent, occurred. It’s over.
Perhaps Mr. Sigler thinks he can help elect Republicans by pandering to his party’s base, which I didn’t realize was in need of shoring up. Needless to say, such rhetoric is off-putting to traditional Delaware voters, who still fondly recall low-rancor campaigns.
In fact, the GOP’s fall from favor in Delaware started about the time conservatives started foaming at the mouth over Bill Clinton’s penis, and they haven’t yet recovered. Probably just coincidence, but still…
Beyond that, isn’t it funny to hear a former national official for a special-interest group talk about what would embarrass him? I mean, think of all the things the NRA stands for that DON’T embarrass him.
The point is no one should have to pay even a penny to exercise a right in a public sphere. Governments should charge for privileges and not for rights. Recognizing and accomdating the exercise of rights by the people should be part of the costs of governments doing business. That was the point of not paying. Greg Lavelle and other dullard Republicans lack the wherewithal to grasp that fundamental point.
“The point is no one should have to pay even a penny to exercise a right in a public sphere.”
but we do pay in taxes to maintain those sites.
“Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the Earth.” Abraham Lincoln
Dana, understood.
Still trying to figure out the full implications. I’ll post later.
You do pay taxes to maintain those sites, but you pay fees to *really* maintain those sites. Because the imposition of fees by governments for various activities are a way of hiding tax increases. Because we live in an atmosphere — and have for some time — where politicians by and large have stopped treating their constituents like adults over money. When you tell people that they can have all of the government they can eat for free, you get a government who has to start paying for itself in more insidious ways — like in fees. Some of those fees aren’t especially controversial, like park entrance fees to go to the zoo or to go canoeing. Others, like the fees to use parks for public events, are meant to have users carry the costs of usage that really aren’t covered by taxes anymore.
It is too bad that people are finally being faced with the realities of probably 20 years of policy. Too bad you weren’t pushing back on this strategy when they started to do it.
“Comment by cassandra m on 7 November 2011 at 11:38 am:
One of the articles I linked to in the past few weeks noted one of the big differences between the tea party and OWS. While the tea party has focused their rage and energy on government, the OWS have focused their energies on the people who have bought that government. This struck me then as an excellent observation and it is a useful frame to watch the efforts of government try to restrict the Occupy Delaware folks.
I have no doubt that there needs to be some balancing of the interests of the folks who need to work downtown and the Occupiers. There is no balance in just shuffling off the protesters to someplace where those who are busily buying up the government can specifically avoid encountering the protesters. There is no balance in providing the occupiers with a litany of restrictions supposedly meant to make sure that other people can use the park, while there is a day care close by who apparently has no such restriction on their use of the park. Top that with the deployment of a fair number of WPD officers (I read a count yesterday of 14 of them), and the thing that is clear is the free speech, engaging your government and all of that OG Thomas Paine stuff means nothing to the people running either Wilmington or Delaware. There are notorious drug corners in Wilmington who could use the services Occupy WPD today.”
I agree with all of this. It would be great if the Occupyers could get groups together to go to some of these neighborhoods so that the police would follow them there.
Well, I had no real opinion until I read that iniquitous permit.
As it happens, I’ve spent more time than the average bear in H. Fletcher Brown Park, because it was 1/2 block from The Academy of the Dance during the many years I had fractious toddlers during ballet lessons. It has the same elfin charm as a high-school smoking court, and I’m pretty sure those daycare kids wouldn’t be severely traumatized by the sight of people with correctly spelled signage.
But this “camp under the overpass and bring your own potties” BS has me seeing red.
You know who routinely camps in state parks, with signs and symbols? Historic re-enactors, that’s who. They not only camp, they bring tents, they lay out on their bedrolls, they cook over open fires, they play music long after lights out… they fire CANNONS for the love of Pete. They, and their spectators, use toilet facilities and other facilities provided to them by the state. Friggin period.
I know this because I, a Delaware resident, tax-payer and annual pass-holder dutifully pay my ‘special events fee’ for the right to come visit with them. They park and run vehicles over the grass, too. Horrors.
You know who uses city county parks? The Flower Market does. I can tell because the streets are blocked off, parking is by fee and the whole business is under the oversight of the police department.
So don’t tell me that an administration that continually advertises itself as the best and the brightest, that owes THEIR government salary to the idea that ‘We’re Delaware, we’re responsive enough to be the place you want to put your business” couldn’t figure out a way to write a damn permit that didn’t toss the Bill of Rights in the damn hopper.
The fact that they failed to do so indicates to me that they didn’t want to.
OWS started September 17th. They first called for action, mid JULY. would the Markell administration like to explain to us, their BOSSES, how it was that the arrival of an Occupy movement in Delaware, which has a g-damn FACEBOOK page so completely escaped their attention that they didn’t know what to do with it?
Are they all watching Dora the Explorer down in Dover? WTF!!!
Well said Heragain.